Question What do you think is most important when considering a mobile phone CPU?

SHaines

Staff member
Apr 1, 2019
187
18
91
The new, lower cost iPhone has been capturing headlines and pushing smartphone tech to the forefront of the news again. If someone does need to upgrade their smartphone, they'll want to find something that'll last for a while.

When you're considering picking up a new phone what do you think is most important when considering a smartphone CPU?
 
  • Like
Reactions: santanu_dutt

mopardude87

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2018
3,348
1,575
96
Well, its gonna be quite a while but with graphine advancements i can only hope we get insane speed and efficiency at the same time. Of course greed has us doing these little itty bitty incremental upgrades when we could in theory have things easily 10x better when graphine hits the scene.

Energy efficiency and that it simply works for basic tasks will be enough for me. The better the battery life the better.
 

killster1

Banned
Mar 15, 2007
6,208
475
126
The new, lower cost iPhone has been capturing headlines and pushing smartphone tech to the forefront of the news again. If someone does need to upgrade their smartphone, they'll want to find something that'll last for a while.

When you're considering picking up a new phone what do you think is most important when considering a smartphone CPU?
smartphone cPu.. well considering that i dont care about something that "lasts a while" i pick a cpu that integrates a modem that has great range and efficiency, the soc from 3 years ago was really fast enough for all my needs so it really doesnt matter. they dont really offer NEW phones with a lot of diff SOCs. they have newest Qualcomm and newest apple as the choices. No one picks either for the CPU alone, so this question seems silly. i upgrade my phone for the camera. And my newest upgrade has actually decreased my internal storage from 512gb to 128gb so i am a little sad and will need to copy files off every once and a while (which is Good i guess in case i lose my phone)
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I think the most important thing is a proper balance between performance and efficiency. As phone usage goes up, users don't want to have to be hunting for a charging port once or twice a day. So, we want to make sure our batteries will last, but we also want something powerful enough. It's sort of the inherent problem with a smartphone. Phones are something we tote along and usually bring them out whenever needed, but having its use be on demand generally means that we don't want excessive wait times or dead time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tlh97

Makaveli

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2002
4,715
1,049
136
I think the most important thing is a proper balance between performance and efficiency. As phone usage goes up, users don't want to have to be hunting for a charging port once or twice a day. So, we want to make sure our batteries will last, but we also want something powerful enough. It's sort of the inherent problem with a smartphone. Phones are something we tote along and usually bring them out whenever needed, but having its use be on demand generally means that we don't want excessive wait times or dead time.

I also want a battery that will last me multiple days however the technology just isn't there yet.

For now with quick charging etc i'm finding it rare that i'm sitting waiting for my phone to charge so that does help.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tlh97 and Ajay

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I also want a battery that will last me multiple days however the technology just isn't there yet.

For now with quick charging etc i'm finding it rare that i'm sitting waiting for my phone to charge so that does help.

I was thinking more of a smartphone with a setup that lasts for a single day under common use. Albeit, I'm not sure how you properly define "common use" compared to heavy users. Also, how do you properly test for varying connectivity levels, which can negatively affect your battery.
 

loki1944

Member
Apr 23, 2020
99
35
51
The new, lower cost iPhone has been capturing headlines and pushing smartphone tech to the forefront of the news again. If someone does need to upgrade their smartphone, they'll want to find something that'll last for a while.

When you're considering picking up a new phone what do you think is most important when considering a smartphone CPU?

I have yet to have a smartphone die on me; at this point I don't see the need for buying a smartphone for the foreseeable future; but I will say that I really am not a fan of the Android OS despite the fact that it is more open than iOS. Having had both I have had far less problems with iOS than Android. As to the CPU, I'm less concerned with that than I am mobile OS optimization.
 

WelshBloke

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
30,329
7,984
136
I stopped worrying about smartphone CPU performance a long time ago, they are all powerful enough.
I want it to have the physical aspects I need (microsd slot, headphone jack,...), pretty much all the cameras are good enough, battery life is pretty good on most phones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pyjujiop

beginner99

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2009
5,208
1,580
136
I was thinking more of a smartphone with a setup that lasts for a single day under common use. Albeit, I'm not sure how you properly define "common use" compared to heavy users. Also, how do you properly test for varying connectivity levels, which can negatively affect your battery.

My phone is 3.5 years old and I easily get more than 1 day. But obviously gps, bluetooth etc turned off.
 

ProDigit

Junior Member
Oct 7, 2008
7
4
81
Well, ya can't say performance, because much of the software doesn't take full use of it, nor parallel threads.
In fact, big-little configurations are mostly big baloney configurations! Many compute programs, or even games, refuse to use the big (performance) cores, because they generate too much heat, and instead run them at lower or half speed loads, or nothing at all (just the little cores).
Power consumption at 1watt for performance cores vs 0.5W for little cores, makes very little difference as well.
Idle power consumption is all in the milli-micro Watts, or cores are completely deactivated, using zero microwatts.
So what would I buy them for?
Probably graphics performance is the only thing, and even that, games like robot wars, CSR or asphalt, aren't able to fully utilize the GPU of high end smart phones.
So I would go for mid-range CPUs, like a modern SD 600 series, based on cost.

CPUs for $200 phones or up, aren't the limiting factor of a phone anymore (unless you get Chinese phones with Kirin CPUs, they both suck in performance and power consumption).
I would divert your attention to make sure the phone has at least 80 available gigabytes of disk space, 6GB of RAM (doesn't matter if it's a bit slower ram), and most prominently battery life and longevity.
The last one, longevity rules out pretty much all Chinese phones, as their batteries tend to last for about 1 year before losing 25 to 50% of it's new life.
Phones like Google pixel, iPhone, essential phone, and even LG and Samsung, their batteries outlast their phone's useful lifetime.
Aside from that, you'll may want a phone with good reception, both cellular as wifi, and function on your network speed (quite often 10mbits is about all you really need, but some can do with 3 to 5 mbits).
 
Last edited:

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
15,699
1,448
126
I'll be blunt.

I was "into" a thing called "micro-computers" by 1983. I honed my keyboard skills - which are just the skills any mainstream user would cultivate -- to the point where I can type faster than I can talk, and just a little bit slower than I can think. I suppose that's my first observation here.

My second observation is that I'm not very "mobile". I have the physical capability of taking a long vacation with my manually, unassisted vintage vehicle -- for as long as I want, given the stock and flows of my wallet. I am only severely constrained by the tether of two disabled family members. So again -- I'm not very mobile.

Third, I think that typing with one's thumbs on a tiny touch-screen device is . . . .ridiculous.

Fourth, as far as I'm concerned, Edward Snowden is a criminal -- probably unraveling our nation-state's security in 1/100th the time it took to build it. If Andy Griffith had to deal with the Mayberry party-line with every phone call, why should you expect much better? I don't trust "the cloud" in any case.

If I ever take another vacation, I'll depend on my laptop and my wireless phone account to connect it. A tablet comes in handy once in a while.

So -- my "next cellphone"? I have an Apple 4S, and I hate it. I'll be glad to move over to the Android camp. But the changeover is not urgent.

And -- there you are. G'wan, now. Y'all go ruin your eyes and stumble over your thumbs -- ya hear? My priority at the moment is to integrate an MP3/Bluetooth/FM-transmitter with my 25-year-old car audio, and I'm making progress. I don't need HD radio. I don't even like radio. I may yet have HD radio, but it will be integrated with my 1995 head-unit-receiver. Instead, I am overjoyed to choose from a near "Library-of-Congress" music collection between here and the grocery run, before I must prepare myself with a respirator and nitrile gloves to pick items off the shelf. Bluetooth for "hands-free calling" is a peripheral convenience, but I'll take advantage of it after I wire in the switch and USB ports, and design a box and faceplate that make my device appear as if it were an OEM dealer-option install.

The world is coming to an end! I'm supposed to worry about my next cell-phone choice? What happens, when they turn off the water, then turn off the electric power, fail to collect the trash every Tuesday and Friday? Are you going to survive with your bleeping cell-phone? Well, it's not going to "beam you up" to some safe Alaskan haven or refuge from Chaos, now, is it?!
 
Last edited:

mikeford

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2001
5,666
157
106
I keep phones for YEARS, so no thinking required when a great deal shows up on any decently reviewed model its going to be a big step up for me. Currently using an LG Aristo that was $75 without a contract or plan, on its second battery, and showing some age, but no serious issues.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Derion

southleft

Junior Member
May 11, 2018
19
3
51
1. Price
2. Price
3. Price
For the millions of us who want good call quality and reasonable battery life, many different smartphones are good enough. Other than certain very limited models, they all take pretty good snapshots, video calls, light games, etc. So, it comes down to price. My most recent is a Samsung A10e for $89, and it works just fine, thanks.
 

southleft

Junior Member
May 11, 2018
19
3
51
I'll be blunt.

And -- there you are. G'wan, now. Y'all go ruin your eyes and stumble over your thumbs -- ya hear? My priority at the moment is to integrate an MP3/Bluetooth/FM-transmitter with my 25-year-old car audio, and I'm making progress. I don't need HD radio. I don't even like radio. I may yet have HD radio, but it will be integrated with my 1995 head-unit-receiver. Instead, I am overjoyed to choose from a near "Library-of-Congress" music collection between here and the grocery run, before I must prepare myself with a respirator and nitrile gloves to pick items off the shelf. Bluetooth for "hands-free calling" is a peripheral convenience, but I'll take advantage of it after I wire in the switch and USB ports, and design a box and faceplate that make my device appear as if it were an OEM dealer-option install.
We added a Bluetooth adapter to our 22 year-old car which has only an FM/AM radio. Basically, it's a little gadget that you plug into the cigarette lighter socket. When the ignition is on (or on the Accessory position) the gadget connects to my phone via Bluetooth. Then, it broadcasts a low-power FM radio signal which the car radio picks up on 87.5 FM and, voila!, there's the music from my phone playing over the car stereo speakers. My phone has a slot which accepts one of those little micro-SD memory cards, so i bought a 128GB micro-SD for about $15 last year and copied a ton of music onto it from our music collection. When we travel we have all that music which will play through the car speakers. It's great. Here's a link to one of those adapters. It's similar to the one we have. There's a zillion of them available, mostly brands we've never heard of - haha.
 

KeithP

Diamond Member
Jun 15, 2000
5,659
198
106
When you're considering picking up a new phone what do you think is most important when considering a smartphone CPU?

All the other hardware wrapped around it. :)

While a CPU is an important part of any smartphone, for me, any mid-range CPU or higher will get the job done. I am more concerned about getting timely, software/security updates, a great camera, and good battery life. Unless a CPU comes out that has better battery life by an order of magnitude, I don't see them really standing out.

-KeithP
 

Hulk

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,191
1,975
136
Simple. I open a a long web page and see if it can smoothly scroll that page. And then I see if it can quickly start the camera application.